| 31 In the business of selling businesses Brett Barker: “working hard to get the best possible outcome for vendors versus the quickest outcome”. Barker Business Brokerage T T Virginia Wright “We almost over communicate so no-one’s left wondering what’s going on, and we push that same ethos of integrity on our brokers. We mentor daily, going through any issues or problems immediately, and we encourage our brokers to only take the number of listings that they can actually sell.” REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Barker Business didn’t start as a grand plan; it started as a family move. Nineteen years ago, Brett Barker joined his parents, Neil and Lynn, to launch what has grown into one of New Zealand’s leading business brokerage firms. Brett returned from London with seniorlevel experience as a systems process engineer, working with major international banks, before buying and running a Devonport restaurant and bar. “That hands-on ownership experience would later shape how I approached brokering.” Neil had recently sold his Ngatea tractor and farm machinery business and joined an established brokerage firm, discovering how rewarding it was to guide other owners through the same transition he’d just lived through himself. “We started Barker Business on Auckland’s North Shore with just the three of us,” Brett says. “Today, we’re a team of around 40, headquartered in Albany, with brokers operating nationwide, and more coming on board.” Brett defines Barker Business as a business sales conduit. They market the business, putting together a detailed information memorandum on it, interviewing and meeting with interested parties, “working hard to get the best possible outcome for vendors versus the quickest outcome” as he puts it. Getting a contract signed is just the beginning in what is a surprisingly involved process to the uninitiated. Once a confidentiality agreement is signed, the shape of the deal is confirmed with ‘basic’ due diligence, A contract is then signed and ‘enhanced’ due diligence begins with bank statements, up to 5 years of accounts, GST returns, and “basically anything the buyer, their financial advisor, and/or their banker needs to feel comfortable with the deal,” says Brett. The bigger the business the longer the process. A recent $20 million plus transaction has taken nine months in total from first meeting with the vendor, which is quite normal. Whether the business is big or small the first thing Barker Business does is make sure it stacks up, doing their own due diligence on the listing. Working with their trademark integrity from day one they formulate a realistic and honest appraisal of what they believe the business is worth and what they think they can sell it for. It’s still a family-owned and family-operated company. While Lynn is now retired, Neil is still actively involved selling businesses and mentoring brokers and Brett is now the CEO. He’s recently, for the first time, hired Sam Jones as General Manager. They no longer live in Ngatea but Brett credits that small-town ethos of treating people how you would like to be treated as key to their success, especially combined with high levels of communication, he explains. “We almost over communicate so no-one’s left wondering what’s going on, and we push that same ethos of integrity on our brokers. “We mentor daily, going through any issues or problems immediately, and we encourage our brokers to only take the number of listings that they can actually sell. “If you have five to seven listings that you’re realistically going to sell you’ll have as much work as you can keep up with, there’s no point in taking on 40,” he explains. Regardless of what they’re selling, Brett and the team at Barker Business take their responsibility seriously. “Think about someone who’s poured their heart and soul into a business for 25 or 30 years and is now ready to step away,” Brett says. “Our role is to manage that transition properly, to achieve a fair, well-supported outcome that reflects the value of the business and sets both the seller and the buyer up for success.” Barker Business is still steadily growing with their ideal team sitting at around 50 people. They are very selective about who they employ, looking for quality people ready to learn the Barker way and shore up their capacity around the country, knowing what a difference having the right people on the ground makes to the business of selling businesses.
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